Nintendo has been adding new games to the Nintendo Switch Online service every few months, and today, it announced the first round of additions of 2021, following the December update that added Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong"s Double Trouble!, alongside a handful of lesser-known games.
This time around, four games are being added, and they"re coming next week, on February 17. For the SNES library of games, there"s DOOMSDAY WARRIOR, Prehistorik Man, and Psycho Dream. The most notable of these is potentially Psycho Dream, which is a game that originally never released outside of Japan. This isn"t the first time Nintendo releases a Japan-exclusive title through Nintendo Switch Online, as Mario"s Super Picross was put on the service last September, and it"s interesting to see these games available internationally for the first time.
As for NES games, there"s only one addition, Fire "N Ice. Here"s a trailer of all the games being added:
Nintendo introduced the Switch Online service as a paid subscription in September of 2018, and it debuted with a lot of the heavy-hitting NES classics you"d expect, such as Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda. One year later, it added a selection of SNES games, once again starting with big additions like Super Mario World, Super Mario Kart, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and a few more.
Ever since then, however, the additions have been focused on obscure titles from these platforms, with some high-profile additions such as the Donkey Kong Country series and Super Mario All-Stars sprinkled in. Some fans have expressed frustration with each round of additions, especially as no new platforms have been added to the service, even though Nintendo has plenty of systems in its history that could be brought to light. The company has often affirmed its intent to continue adding value to Nintendo Switch Online, but it seems to be taking its time to do so.